TGAM STORY

iPhone users show modest data usage

SIMON AVERY, Globe and Mail Update

After generating a storm of protest against Rogers Wireless Inc. for the company's pricing of data plans, early adopters of the Apple iPhone appear in fact to be very modest users of the device.

In the first four weeks after the iPhone launched in Canada July 11, Rogers says 95 per cent of customers used less than 10 per cent of their plans' data allotment.

The company, which has exclusive rights to sell the popular device in Canada, said it has sold an amount "well into the six figures." That level of iPhone sales should support analysts' forecasts that Rogers Wireless will achieve its best quarter ever for new subscribers.

While sales initially exceeded supply, the company has been surprised at the low data usage, said spokeswoman Liz Hamilton.

A year earlier, when AT&T Inc. rolled out the first model of the iPhone in the United States, selling customers unlimited amounts of data usage, traffic on the phone company's network ballooned. Part of the difference this year with the latest iPhone is that Rogers and AT&T have upgraded their networks to 3G (third generation) standards.

"We are on track for what we planned" for the network, Ms. Hamilton said.

Rogers bowed to consumer pressure just two days before its launch of the iPhone because many people were enraged that customers in the U.S. were offered unlimited amounts of data while Rogers was planning to charge $100 a month for 6 GB. The company switched the offer to $30 a month for 6 GB for any customer who signed up before the end of August.

In the first four weeks of usage, 95 per cent of customers used less than half a gigabyte and 91 per cent used less than 200 megabytes. Only a single customer exceeded the 6GB threshold, Ms. Hamilton said.

Rogers has decided to extend the current pricing plan for another month and will make it available to owners of all devices.

A new pricing model will kick in beginning Oct. 1, balancing consumer concerns and actual usage patterns, Ms. Hamilton said.

A monthly fee of $30 will buy 1 GB of data instead of 6GB. A cheaper package of $25 will give 500 megabytes, filling the needs of most customers based on early consumption trends, she said.

Other plans include $50 for 2GB, $60 for 3GB and $80 for 8GB.

To address customer concerns over racking up large monthly fees for unwittingly exceeding data limits, Rogers said it will add three features.

All data plans after Oct. 1 will be unlimited for the first three months, giving customers a sense of how much data they are using. Plans can be upgraded or reduced without penalty. Customers will receive a text message alerting them when they are nearing the maximum and when they have surpassed it. And data charges will be capped at $100 a month, regardless of usage, giving "the ultimate cost certainty," Ms. Hamilton said.

Rogers has always resisted following the lead of some U.S. carriers with unlimited data plans, insisting that customers should pay for what they use. The company says it is not unique in this area and that more than half the operators around the world selling iPhones do not offer unlimited packages.